Bhubaneswar, July 11: The Odisha Secondary School Teachers' Association (OSSTA) today threatened to gherao the directorate of secondary education on July 15 for failing to fill up the vacant posts for headmasters.
Out of the 5,000 high schools, a mind-boggling 1,900 are running without headmasters. This has led to poor management of the schools, alleged the teachers. The teachers' association alleged that the government has neither been recruiting for the vacant headmasters' posts nor is it giving promotion to eligible teachers.
"How can the state government be so indifferent about the functioning of the schools. It is hampering the quality of education in these institutes. The education system is in a shambles and the government is not bothered at all. The teachers who are forced to do the jobs of headmasters are under tremendous pressure of managing both classes and administration, leading to utter mismanagement in our schools," said Prakash Chandra Mohanty, the general secretary of association.
In a similar development, another teachers' organisation - The All Odisha Federation of Teachers' Organisation - has threatened to gherao the directorate on July 18.
"This act of government is illegal, undemocratic and injudicious," said Rabi Roy, the secretary general of the federation.
"The state government simply wants to play with the lives of the teachers and drag them to the streets. The government will be solely responsible for any unrest," Roy said.
The association had taken out a mega rally in March, demanding abolition of the block grant system. Prior to this, the teachers demonstrated at Lower PMG Square here for 46 days last year.